There’s a lot going on in twelve year old Miranda’s life.
She’s helping her mother prepare to compete on the TV game show, THE $20,000
PYRAMID, her long-time best friend isn’t speaking to her, she’s trying to
navigate the friendship waters of her classroom, and to top it all off she is
receiving mysterious letters from a time traveler. As Miranda struggles to
understand the complexities of friendship, as well as time travel, she
constantly returns to her favorite book, L’Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME. Not only
does Miranda feel a special kinship with Meg, but as the story progresses the
reader begins to see how important time, both linear and non-linear, is to both
of their stories. Set in New York City in 1979, Miranda’s story is part
historical fiction, part time traveling fantasy, and part mind-challenging
mystery. Miranda begins with a lot of questions: Why did Marcus punch Sal? Why
does the homeless laughing man sleep with his head under the mail box? Who is
the enigmatic letter writer and how does he/she know so much about Miranda? As
Miranda tells her story in non-linear episodes, the seemingly unrelated pieces
of the mystery begin to fall into place to create a complex interlocking
puzzle.

CRITICAL
ANALYSIS

Miranda’s story is almost entirely grounded in reality,
however it is the added twist of time travel that pushes this story from contemporary
realism/historical fiction into low fantasy. Time is an important theme in the
book, from time travel to understanding that sometimes friends just need space
and time. The story is written in first person from Miranda’s point of view,
but the events are not presented chronologically. The chapters skip around in
time, which adds to the suspense of the book. The more Miranda learns about
time the more she realizes that her words and actions, however small and
seemingly insignificant, can have a huge impact, like a drop of rain causing a
giant ripple in a pond.

The multicultural cast of characters feel like a natural
part of urban New York City in 1979. Miranda is a street-smart latchkey kid who
knows her neighborhood very well and by the end of the book, so do the readers.
Stead has created fully developed characters with distinctive personalities.
For instance, Annemarie has dietary restrictions, an issue relevant to modern
kids, but she also has a crush on Colin and a complex best-friendship with Julia.
There is equal distribution of gender among the characters in the story.Miranda has peers of both genders and the
adults in her world range from her single-parent mother to Jimmy, the owner of
the neighborhood sandwich shop.

The style of writing is conversational, filled with slang
and occasional references that keep the book historically grounded. Dialogue is
blended seamlessly into Miranda’s narrative, which pushes the story forward at
a brisk pace. Although Miranda’s world is clearly New York City in 1979, the themes
of the book are universal. The book follows Miranda’s journey to accepting that
friendships are complex and ever evolving.She learns what it means to be a good friend and that having more than
one friend does not mean that any one friendship means less.

The book is heavily influenced by Madeleine L’Engle’s
classic children’s book, A WRINKLE IN TIME. Miranda carries her copy of the
book with her at all times and has conversations about the book with several
characters. Her love for the time traveling story of Meg, Calvin and Charles
Wallace creates a framework that makes conversation about time travel seem
natural. When Miranda realizes that someone in her life is a time traveler, the
idea has already been planted in the reader’s mind and is therefore easier to
accept.

Although the ending has happy elements, such as Miranda’s
mother winning the game show, the story ultimately ends with sobering
acceptance on Miranda’s part. The final chapters of the book weave the
seemingly unrelated pieces of Miranda’s story together into a mind and
time-bending conclusion. Kids will want to reread the book to find and piece
together the clues that Stead has planted along the way.

AWARDS/REVIEW
EXCERPT(S)

Book Sense Book of the Year

IRA Children’s Book Award

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner

Indies’ Choice Book Award Winner

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Starred review in BOOKLIST: “The '70s New York setting is an
honest reverberation of the era; the mental gymnastics required
of readers are invigorating; and the characters, children and
adults, are honest bits of humanity no matter in what place or time their
souls rest.”

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Miranda's voice rings
true with its faltering attempts at maturity and observation. The story builds
slowly, emerging naturally from a sturdy premise. As Miranda reminisces, the
time sequencing is somewhat challenging, but in an intriguing way. The setting
is consistently strong. The stores and even the streets-in Miranda's neighborhood
act as physical entities and impact the plot in tangible ways.”

Review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Eventually and improbably,
these strands converge to form a thought-provoking whole. Stead…accomplishes
this by making every detail count, including Miranda's name, her hobby of knot
tying and her favorite book, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.”

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “She [Stead] skillfully
weaves written notes into each scene and repeats clues when necessary. The
climax is full of drama and suspense. This story about the intricacies of
friendship will be a hit with students.”

Review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “With quick vocal strokes,
Corduner paints vivid, provocative portraits of Germans and Jews under
unfathomable duress and the ripple effect such circumstances have on their
lives.”

CONNECTIONS

*Read this book before or after reading A WRINKLE IN TIME.
You could also read passages from the book aloud. Why do you think Miranda
likes this book and its protagonist so much? Are there similarities between
Miranda and Meg? How have these books changed the way you think about time?

L’Engle, Madeleine. 1962. A WRINKLE IN TIME. ISBN
978-1299700284

*Play your own version of THE $20,000 PYRAMID. Refer to page
12 and 39 for the basic rules. Make two sets of index cards: common words for the
first round and categories for the Winner’s Circle round.

More Blogs by Amy Seto Musser

About Me

I am a children's librarian at the Denver Public Library. I graduated with a Masters of Library Science from Texas Woman's University. I feel lucky to have a career that allows me to combine my theatre experience and my love for children’s lit and programming. I'm always on the look out for creative ways to incorporate the arts (music, drama, dance, visual arts) to extend books beyond the page.